For the sake of curiosity
by SnivaliceLlover
Summary: Written as a prompt by user awford27 Relationships are tested. Tony and Pepper come under fire. A new intern provides a new experiment conducted in Pepper's office.


For the sake of curiousity.

**Prompt written for user 27.**

**Prompt:**

**Nc-17 fic Pepper Potts paired with a 15 year old male named Michael Stevens.**

**Features the setting of Pepper's office in Iron Man 2.**

**Warning: Mature themes/NC-17**

Even without a single glance towards her the bedside clock, Pepper could tell that she had woken up hours before her alarm was due to go off. She was face-down in bed, and her right arm was stretched out, unconsciously reaching for the warmth and comfort that Tony's body should have given her. However, all she was clutching now was the cool bed sheet.

Tony hadn't joined her last night. That was obvious.

And this wasn't the first time.

Pepper rolled over and rubbed her eyes, dashing away the remaining ghost of sleep and tears. It was silly to get emotional about this.

Ever since New York, Tony had been distant. He had come back from sending Loki back to Asgard with a shield of uncertainty and fear about his person, and Pepper hadn't managed to penetrate it yet. Yes, he would talk, and give her kisses whenever she asked for one, but the nights where they slept together were always broken ones, with nightmares keeping Tony up for hours at a time, covered in perspiration and edging as far away from her as possible when she tried to comfort him.

And on nights like that one she had just risen from, she didn't know if he was in his lab or out drinking away his memories. She didn't want to ask if he was unfaithful during those times, but she couldn't hide the upset from him any longer. She knew they were at breaking point. But she didn't want to be.

She just wanted her Tony back.

Pepper sighed and climbed out of bed. It was time to start her morning, and she knew that she would have to deal with that meddlesome Stark sometime during the day.

Tony rang about midday. She was hesitant in picking up the phone; not knowing whether he was going to be a call regarding the state of their relationship and where he had been the night before, or just a call requesting her to send something down to the lab, and ignore her when she appeared at the glass door of his sanctuary, clutching the object in her hands. She wasn't sure which one she would prefer at the moment.

"Tony?" She answered, pulling her tablet towards her and flicking up the notes section. It was a built-in response that she had developed in response to Tony's phone calls. He sometimes reeled over a host of information to her before promptly ending the conversation, assuming that she had recorded everything down, and would become affronted when she had forgotten something. Then she'd good-naturedly argue with him about his telephone manner, and the flirtatious banter between them would usually result in a kiss and the promise of more after the day had come to a close.

That was what the old Tony used to do.

Now she was getting those calls less and less.

But she still had hope.

"Miss Potts" he answered back. She smiled at that. After New York, his voice had lost the teasing, warm quality that she loved so much, and developed a hardened and quiet edge. Now she could hear the warmth flood through the receiver. A tiny seed of optimism bloomed in her chest.

"What can I do for you today, Mr. Stark?" she questioned, poised over the tablet as she waited to receive instructions from him.

"It's more what I can do for you. Listen Potts, I know I've been….different for the last few weeks" He answered, and his sincerity made her sit back into her chair. He hadn't been this open since before New York, and hear he was, discussing his flaws.

The seed grew bigger.

"And I am sorry about that. I am. New York took a hell of a lot out of me, and usually I can handle something like that, but going up into that wormhole was… It was a whole different level. You would have no idea. I thought-"he faltered; she could hear him exhale loudly through the phone, "-I thought I would never see you again. And that freaked me out a lot. And what I'm trying to say is-"

"You're sorry?" She interrupted his babbling. She knew that he'd just go around in circles trying to get the right apology out, so cutting him to the quick was often the kindest and more productive thing to do.

"Yeah" he sounded relieved, like a heavy load has just been taken off his shoulder.

"It's fine Tony. I know it's been difficult but I told you, I'm here for you" She reminded him, smiling at the phone. The seed of optimism was now a flower in her heart, and although she knew that it would be a long time before their relationship would be back on track, this was a good push in the right direction.

"I know. Listen Potts, would you do anything of me if I asked?"

The change in conversation topic made her frown slightly. But this was Tony Stark, and how his mind worked shouldn't faze her anymore.

"..Within reason, yes. I think so" She answered cautiously.

"Would you… for example go and dye your hair blue if I asked you?"

"…Are you asking me?" Tony had never given her any doubt that he disliked her hair colour, so this conversation was just making her more confused every second.

"No, just in theory. Or would you go and get a piercing or a tattoo?"

"Well…. I suppose so. Yes. If it was necessary to mine or your survival. Tony what is this about?"

"Just say to me 'Tony, I give you permission that if something was crucial to the scientific world, I'd help you to the best of my ability'. Just say it Potts, and then I'll leave you alone.

Parroting the words back to him made he roll her eyes in annoyance. He was always making her repeat these stupid vows back to him. She was sure it was just something he needed to have to make sure her loyalty still lay with him, so she never thought too much into it. After she had said it, he sounded a lot brighter.

"What are you doing for lunch?" he asked her. She smiled at this question. Early on in their courtship, he had asked her this and she had found herself two hours later seated in Tony's private jet having a late lunch as they flew away for a weekend in Cannes.

"Nothing. Why?"

"Fantastic! Listen, I need you to help me train somebody up. He's an intern I found at one of MIT's early placement programmes who has a great deal of potential to become something of a prodigy of mine and Bruce Banner's. We've had talks with both him and his parents, and we have decided to take him on to assist us in both of our fields of study, but he's never been around Stark Industries and I thought 'who better to ask than my good ol' Pepper to give him the guided tour'?"

He sounded so pleased at the suggestion that she knew she wouldn't turn him down, despite this not being what Pepper was put in this office to do.

"Of course I'll help you Tony. When am I meeting this young gentleman?"

A knock on her office door made her look her.

"Sounds like him now. Gotta go Potts, I've sent him up with some lunch so have fun!" He hung up before she could argue back to him.

She placed the phone back in its cradle, and rubbed her temples. It was typical Stark behaviour to assume that she'd do something without ever having to ask first. And now she was sacrificing the rest of the day to look after some genius.

Great.

Okay… She had to admit, this young man was quite handsome.

Michael Stevens came in clutching a picnic basket, and she had instantly warmed to him. He was taller than her, and with short hair and dark, intelligent eyes which swept around her office as soon as he stepped in.

She had introduced herself warmly, and after conversation which flowed between them, she had found herself sitting on the floor of the office, eating a delicious chicken salad that Michael had brought up.

He was so different to Tony; with a streak of seriousness that was punctuated with a dry sense of humour that had her giggling like a schoolgirl into her hand. He also spent his time asking questions about her, which also was so unlike Tony's more narcissistic behaviour. He actually seemed to be listening to her and drinking in her words.

It was only after he had fished out a bottle of pink lemonade from the basket that she began to discuss his role here at Stark Industries. They were both drinking directly from the bottle, and the sugar from the lemonade was making her head ache slightly.

However, after they had finished the entirety of the bottle, the headache didn't stop there. Soon it felt like a slow fog was creeping over her senses, blinding her to everything and everyone. She found herself slipping down onto the carpet, and a dull thump beside her made her realise that Michael was reacting the same way. Soon darkness flooded her senses and Pepper became lost in a shadowy world.

Pain woke her up.

Excruciating, stomach clenching, agonising pain made her startle awake and promptly throw up. She felt surprisingly heavy, and the scent of the vomit made her stomach snarl again. She opened her eyes and found herself nose-to-nose with Michael. He was staring blankly at her, vomit covering his face. She tried to struggle away from him, but found that she couldn't. Found that wherever she moved too, he followed, still nose-to-nose.

She turned her head and tried to move her hand to wipe away at her face, and found that her arm felt impossibly heavy. She managed to move her head enough to glance down, and what she saw made her gasp in horror.

Her arm and his arm were pinned together crudely, with stitches weaving between them and tightly drawing them together. Blood was covering their now conjoined arms, and she could see reddened puncture marks along both her and his arms, and heavy duty black thread was woven through this in an attempt to keep them from separating.

Whenever she tried to move, his arm dragged her down, pulling the thread that bound them together tight and made fresh blood seep out the raw marks. Their hands were wrapped together in a tight clinch, their fingers woven together in a fashion that you would see couples walking along a street would have. But this wasn't for love or commitment. This was torture.

Pepper craned her head slightly and looking down at her body. Like with their arms, they were stitched together front to front. They wore shredded clothes to protect their modesty, but all Pepper could focus was the black thread weaving between them and pairing them together. She could smell the sharp tang of fresh blood, along with the scent of what she could only guess was rotting flesh.

In a dim corner of her mind, she guessed that the wounds that were binding them together were starting to become infected, and visions of maggots and yellow pus swam before her eyes. She couldn't pull away, as the stitches were so perfectly done that a wave of white-hot pain would flash through her if she tried to move the stiches even an inch.

Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see that she was lying on an overlarge work-bench, and blood coated the walls. The walls of her office. She knew those prints anywhere. She could also see other experiments. A rat-magpie hybrid. A squirrel-snake creation. It looked like those were all earlier versions of what she and Michael have become.

Everything in this room had become paired together in the simplest sense of the word.

And she knew that all the questions that Tony had been asking her over her participation for scientific forwarding were all leading to this moment. Whatever happened to him in New York had changed him. Changed him into this monster who did this to people and would call it science.

But she couldn't move.

Couldn't escape.

She and Michael would be one forever.

(**Footnote.**

**There we go. A pairing story between Michael and Pepper. Very mature themes/graphic content**

Footnote of the footnote.

I don't write underage stuff.

You've got to be careful for what you give me as a prompt)


End file.
